Improvement in car-couplimgs



T. ANDRESS.

Car-Couplings.

Patented May 26,1874

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M M W w an. NH HV Z MW j THOMAS ANDRESS, OF AURORAIIVILLE, WISCONSIN.

IMPROVEMENT IN CAR-COUPLINGS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 151,340, dated May 26,1874 application tiled March 16, 1,874.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS ANDREss, of Aurorahville,in the county ofVaushara and State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and usefulImprovementin Couplings for Railway (Jars, of which the following' is aspecification:

The improvement herein consists of the conibination of the lever, havinga curved back and an outwardly-projecting end, with the rubber cushion,Vthe stop for the projecting end, the cross-bar, and the coupling-link,as will be more fully hereinafter shown and described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l represents avertical sect-ionofthe draw-heads and coupling' devices of two cars; and Fig. 7, asimilar view, showing one of the levers raised to free thecoupling-link.

NVithin an opening' in the draw-head a is pivoted a lever, b, with itsstem c projecting upward out ot' said opening, and resting upon thefront end of the draw-head in an inclined position, and by which itsdescent is limited. 'Ihe opening is cushioned by a rubber spring, d,which, pressing upon the curved back c1 of the lever, keeps its inclinedend upon the stop e. The front side c2 of this lever is inclined, andstands within the mouth of the draw-head, so that the coupling-hook fmust strike against it as it enters the draw-head and raise the lever, aprojecting point, g, on which presses down upon the coupling-hook bythepaction of the cushion-spring d, and forces the hook f1 of thecoupling-bar over an iron cross-bar, f2, in the bottom of the drawhead,and holds it securely and with considerable force in place. The lowerend of the lever has a lip, h, which lies flush with the bottom ot' thedraw-head, with its end on a line, or thereabout, with the front side c2of the leverstem c, which stands in an inclined position to the lip h,and the latter, being just beneath the hooked end f of the coupling-bar,is in position to lift the latter when it is desired to uncouple thecars, by pulling up the inclined outer end of the lever by a chainattached to an eye. rlhis, however, can only be done by drawing back thelever b against the force et' the rubber cushion d, which keeps thelever hard upon itsv stop e, and the point g upon the coupling-hook.

The stop c for the lever is important to prevent the lever from being'pressed hard upon the end ofthe coupling-bar, which might raise theother end and uncouple the cars at any time; but the said stop preventssuch danger. The coupling-bar has hooks fl at each end tor catching intothe draw-heads, and it must hold fast so long as held by thespring-cushion in a iiat position; but in case one of the cars is thrownfrom the traclr and turns over, the draw-head will turn upon thecoupling-bar and open the lever by bringing the narrow edge of said baragainst the lever, and thus` leave the hook free from the draw-head, sothat it can be pulled out by the overturned car.

I am aware the device/of the lever held down by a coil-spring, andhaving a front recessed 'end to receive the conical end ofthecouplinglinlgand by which the latter is raised to free itself from theshouldered draw-head by raising the front end of thelever, is not new;and I do not claim such devices or their combination, broadly.

I claim- The combina-tion ot' the lever I), having the curved back c1and the outwardly-projccting end c, with the rubber cushion d, the stope, the cross-bar f2, and the coupling-link, all as shown and described.

THOMAS ANDRESS.

Witnesses:

J. S. RYAN, G. B. WrLeoX.

